special correspondent christopher livesay reports. >> reporter: venice, more than any other place in italy, has withstood the test of time. very little has changed since this lagoon city was built in the middle ages-- except perhaps the people themselves. you might even think the locals had been replaced entirely by tourists like these. >> obviously, most of the people here are tourists! >> yes, yes, too much! >> i thought this was just a tourist area. i honestly had no idea people lived here. >> reporter: of course some do. giovanni-claudio di giorgio is one of them. he and his two brothers are concert musicians. but, they fear they're becoming an endangered species. >> when i go outside my house, walk around venice, i feel alone. because i recognize that the people i see, don't live here. >> reporter: in the renaissance, it was merchants who flocked to the rialto bridge. today, it's tourists. many locals say there are too many, and they're leaving as a result. in the 1950s, there were over 170,000 residents. today, it's just over 50,000. >> this isn't even that bad. >> reporter: ho

newshour special correspondent christopher livesay and bring us this report from italy. >> reporter: for three generations daniel granieri and his family have farmed olives in the tiny hilltop town of nerola, producing extra-virgin olive oil from these fields outside rome. this summer, things took a turn, and for the worst. >> ( translated ): i started to get very worried. from being worried, that turned into being absolutely certain about the drought. there's never been anything like this, not in 20 years. this is the worst it's ever been. >> reporter: granieri is also the regional president of the italian farmers association, coldiretti. he shows me some of the damage up close. >> ( translated ): look here, there's hardly anything compared to the olives that should be on this branch. raising the price won't offset the loss. but we'll have to raise them at least 10 to 15%. we've lost up to 70% of our harvest in the region. >> reporter: the drought is so relentless, that his town now rations water. for eight-hour blocks every day, they can't turn on their taps. and they aren't alone.